Adelaide Uni scoops rivals for international research grants

Wednesday, 8 September 1999

Adelaide University has been awarded 14 of the latest International Researcher Exchange (IREX) grants - the most of any university in Australia.

The IREX grants, awarded by the Australian Research Council, provide funds for collaboration between Australian and overseas researchers. The grants are also a strong measure of a university's international reputation in research.

Out of 20 applications, Adelaide University has received 14 of the grants - a success rate of 70%. This compares with the national success rate of 36.6% (89 grants out of a total of 243 applications).

The total amount awarded to Adelaide University is $534,500 over three years, which is more than 40% of the total amount of IREX grants (approximately $1,274,000) awarded in Australia.

The research projects begin in the year 2000. Adelaide University research projects funded under the IREX scheme include: investigating new materials for electronics, reducing aerodynamic sound, improving the quality of olive oil, detecting leaks in Australia's major water pipe systems, and installing a new multi-telescope system at Woomera to study high-energy phenomena in the universe.

Adelaide University researchers will collaborate on these and other projects with researchers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, the US, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan and India.

"Our success with the IREX grants spans the breadth and depth of research at Adelaide University," says the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mary O'Kane.

"The fact that we have received grants for 70% of our applications and been awarded more than 40% of the total grant funds in Australia says a great deal about our expertise and the reputation of our research.

"This is another feather in the cap for Adelaide, proving yet again that we really are an Australian leader in research and research training," Professor O'Kane says.

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